by Mia Belle
“Are we that obvious?”
I laugh. “Apparently. Does that bother you?”
“No way. Julia has become kind of like a second mom to me. And Craig is great.”
We return to the bed and I hold her in my arms, kissing her cheek and telling her how much she means to me. She places her hands on either side of my face, staring into my eyes. Once again, all I think about is how stupid I was for wanting to play football again, for wanting to have meaning in my life. I do have meaning. I have no idea what the future holds, if Lia and I will be together forever, but I’ll try my damn hardest to make sure that happens.
“What?” she asks. “You’re looking at me funny.”
I shake my head. “I was just thinking about what an idiot I was for hanging out with Josh and those assholes. I hate that I lied and snuck around. I hate the guy they were turning me into.”
She caresses my cheek. “Let’s not talk about it. It’s all in the past. What matters is how we move forward, who we want to become, what we want to make of ourselves.”
Those questions still elude me, but I’m not going to worry about the future. The present is great—more than great. I’m exactly where I want to be.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lia
As I enter the kitchen the next morning in pajamas, I find Dad shaking his head at the counter, where he’s pouring himself some cereal and milk. “No way are you missing another day of school,” he says.
I flop down on a chair, grabbing a banana and peeling it. “I’m not going to a school I don’t support.”
“Sweetie.” He sits across from me. “You can’t behave this way. We need to carry on as usual. Anything out of the ordinary will raise suspicion.”
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine.” I sweep to my room, throw on jeans and a T-shirt before returning to the kitchen and fetching some cereal. I’m too pissed to eat, but Mom always said breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
“What are you going to do today?” I ask. He’s never missed a day of work. I know it’s killing him that he can’t go to school. Being principal is his dream—it fulfills him in a way I probably can’t imagine. And now he might lose it all.
“Other than being questioned repeatedly by the cops, I have a lot to do,” Dad says, forcing a smile. “Shop, clean the house. Maybe try to cook dinner for us tonight.” He keeps that smile, but something tells me it’s for his own sake than for mine. “Anything special you want me to make?”
I reach for my book bag and sling it over my shoulder. “What I really want is for you to be principal again. How long is this investigation going to take?”
He lifts his hands like he has no clue. I force a smile, bid him good bye and good luck, before leaving the house and slamming the door. I’m really trying to be positive here, but I can’t take it any longer. My dad shouldn’t be home while I go to school. It’s not right.
Since he can’t drive me, I decide to walk instead of taking the bus. The exercise will be good for me, plus I need to clear my head and calm down.
As I trek through the streets, watching all the activity around me, I keep assuring myself that everything will be okay. Mom used to say those words to me whenever I was feeling down. If she were here, I bet she’d tell me the same thing. And Dad, too. He would really benefit from her words of encouragement.
I reach the school building and notice many kids staring at me. A guy and girl who were kissing stop and turn to me. Some turn up their noses in disgust. Now that my dad’s been categorized as a possible pedophile, I’m sure I’m in for a rough day.
My throat tightens. What if he won’t be proven innocent? Could my dad actually go to jail?
Alexis is in the parking lot, as usual flirting with a senior who probably doesn’t even notice she’s there. As soon as she takes sight of me, she hurries over, her posse trailing behind. Sophie’s not among them.
“You.” She narrows her eyes. “How dare you come here after what your dad did?” She snarls, scanning me from top to bottom. “You’re just as bad as him.”
Ignoring her, I push through the crowd that has gathered, heading toward the entrance of the building. I should have expected this. No, I guess I thought the students loved my dad enough as a principal to know he’s been falsely accused.
At my locker, I try my combination a few times before I get the damn thing open. I feel kids glaring at me, but I try not to pay attention to them.
“Hey,” a voice says from behind. Turning around, I find my boyfriends standing there. Zane’s arms are crossed and he glares at each person scowling at me. They must sense the rage leaping off him because they quickly turn around. A few girls send the guys smiles, I bet many assuming Aidan will break up with me now that my dad’s a possible child molester. But he stands his ground, his eyes only having time for me.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asks me.
I nod. “They can stare at me all they want. I don’t care. All I care about is what happens to my dad.”
Aidan wraps an arm around me, leading us to class. Caleb and Zane follow. As we pass the halls, I catch a few girls with their mouths dropped, like they can’t believe Aidan’s not breaking up with me. A few strike up conversations with him, but he doesn’t acknowledge them.
“He’s being questioned today,” I tell them once we’re sitting in class. “He’s pretending to be strong, but I know he’s crumbling inside.”
Zane makes a move like he wants to take my hand, but curls his fingers at his side. “We need to fight for him.”
I puff air out of my cheeks. “I don’t know how much good that’ll do. It’s his words against whoever is accusing him.” I rub my face. “Whatever happens, it won’t be pretty.”
Class begins and I do my best to concentrate. I sense eyes on me, and when I scan around the room, I spy Sophie at the back, eyes glued to mine. There’s an expression in them, but I can’t linger on it because the teacher gives us a pop quiz.
***
Dad’s dinner turns out to be…not too bad. It’s edible, and I appreciate the hard work he put into it, but it’s obvious his head wasn’t there. There’s a bit too much salt, and the chicken is a few minutes away from being burned.
He laughs a laugh that hardy can be considered one. I know he’s only wearing a smile because he’s trying to be strong for me.
“Do you know who’s accusing you?” I ask, taking a sip from my orange juice that tastes blah. I don’t think I can love orange juice—or anything—again until he’s in the clear.
Dad nods slowly, eyes focused on his food. “There are quite a few girls.” His voice is laced with pain. “I don’t understand why they would do this.”
“Can you tell me who they are?”
He sighs. “Lia, I’d rather not talk about it.”
I’m bursting with curiosity, but I’ll respect my dad’s wishes. I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to tell me. Maybe he’s trying to protect me. Or maybe he doesn’t want me fighting with the other girls? I want to fight them. Want to demand they take back the accusations. Don’t they understand what it’s doing to him?
After dinner, Dad and I clean up and he informs me he’s going out for a drive. I know he’s only doing this to clear his head, to distract himself, same way he did by Mom’s anniversary of death.
I text the guys to come over and the doorbell rings less than three minutes later. We sit down on the sofa, Aidan and Caleb on either side of me, Zane at my feet on the floor. He wraps his hand around my ankle, staring into my eyes like he’s reading my soul.
“We need to help my dad,” I say. “We need to figure out who did this. He doesn’t want to tell me who’s involved, but maybe we can conduct our own investigation. Ask the girls at school if they know who did it.”
Zane crosses his arms over his chest. “You think they’ll tell you?”
I squint as I think. “No, but I’m pretty sure they’ll tell you guys. Especially Aidan and especially if he breaks up
with me.”
Aidan’s eyes widen to the size of the drying dishes in the kitchen. “Hell no. I’m not breaking up with you.”
“It’ll be a fake breakup.”
He shakes his head. “I can’t even fake break up with you. It’d hurt me too much.”
Caleb slides his hand in mine. “You think we can talk them into dropping the accusation?”
“Maybe.”
Aidan rubs his chin. “What about the other things he’s been accused of? Embezzling school funds. You think the girls are responsible for that, too?”
“I don’t know. I have no idea why someone would do this. I’ve never once heard anyone complain about him. He’s not just a principal, and he tries to do whatever he can to help each and every student. It doesn’t make sense.”
Zane shifts on the floor, rubbing his chin. “It has to be someone who has a problem with your dad. Maybe someone who doesn’t even go to our school.”
“Or someone who hates me and wants to go after me,” I say, my insides searing as a thought swirls around in my mind. “Someone who wants revenge.”
Aidan, Caleb, and Zane exchange a look. “Josh,” Aidan says. “He and his assholes friends told me they were planning something. But why go after your dad? How does that hurt you?”
I gesture around. “Look at the way everyone’s been treating me. News reporters are going crazy with this story. The Kelly reputation will be tainted. Our status in town will plummet. Those who love us will hate us now. That’s what Josh wants. And then there’s also the fact that my dad insisted on the restraining order.”
Aidan sits up straight. “Then this is about revenge. The question is, what do we do about it?”
“We need to prove my dad’s innocent,” I say.
“No.” Zane grits his teeth. “We need to punch the living shit out of those assholes.”
“No,” Aidan stresses. “Violence isn’t the answer. We need our own revenge. We need to hit them where it hurts most. What’s the only thing those pricks care about?”
“Football,” I say.
Aidan nods. “We need to screw up their football careers.”
“How?” Caleb asks. “And we don’t have proof they’re behind this. I want to hurt them as much as they hurt Lia, but if they’re not behind this, then we’re just as bad as them.”
“Fuck that,” Zane says. “You know just as well as I do that they’re responsible.”
“We need proof,” Caleb says.
“How?” I ask.
Aidan’s eyebrows furrow. Caleb frowns. Zane crosses his arms over his chest. Then he gets to his feet. “I’m going to demand the truth from them, even if it gives me broken bones.”
He stalks to the door. Aidan, Caleb and I rush after him. Aidan and Caleb seize his arms while I grab the back of his shirt.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Aidan says.
Zane tries to pull free. “I don’t care what any of you say. I’m getting answers from them. You can come if you want, but nothing and no one will stop me.” He shoves us off and slams the door after him.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Zane
Feels like my body is on fire as I march to the park. My brother, cousin, and Lia rush after me, probably to watch over me. Truth is, I don’t care if going after those assholes will get me beat up or killed. I’m not letting them get away with it.
I reach the park and my head whips around until my eyes zero in on the five guys kicking a football around. I feel Aidan, Caleb, and Lia’s footsteps behind me as I charge over to them.
The assholes stop what they’re doing as I approach them, my fists at my sides, ready to beat the living shit out of all of them.
“Can we help you?” that prick Burke asks with a wide smile on his face.
My hands itch to slam him against the wall, but I need to use my words instead of my fists. “Assholes,” I say through gritted teeth. “I know you’re the ones making false accusations against Lia’s dad. Take them back or I’ll—”
“What?” Josh asks innocently, his gaze darting to his friends before returning to me. “What about Lia’s dad?”
I glare at him. “Don’t pretend to be a dumbass.”
He looks completely and utterly clueless. “Sorry, but we have no idea what you’re talking about. Why should we give a shit about her or her dad?” His eyes focus on her in the distance before returning to me. “I’ve moved on, forgotten all about her.”
I clench my teeth. “I’m not an idiot. You promised to take revenge on her.”
He chuckles and the others follow. Waving his hands, he says, “Oh, that.” He shrugs. “I’m over it. You can have my sloppy seconds. I honestly don’t give a damn about her. She’s nothing to me.”
“You’re lying,” I growl.
He steps closer to me. “You know, being in juvie has changed my view of this world. I’m trying to be a better person, to make amends for my mistakes. You can have her. I told you I don’t give a fuck.”
He turns around and they continue playing. I stare after them, my chest expanding and contracting like I just ran a marathon. Could it be true? Has he really dropped his need to take revenge on Lia?
They’re not even looking my way, like this exchange never happened.
My head is still trying to make sense of what just went down as I make my way to the guys and my girlfriend.
“We heard every word,” Aidan lets me know.
I fold my arms over my chest. “Believe any of it?”
He shrugs like he has no idea. Caleb watches the guys, eyes a little narrowed as though trying to read them.
Lia tears her gaze from them to me. “I think he was telling the truth. Josh doesn’t hold grudges. He gets bored easily and moves on to the next thing.”
I shake my head. “I don’t give a damn what he said. We still need to watch our backs.”
“I know,” Lia agrees. “But I also think we need to forget about them and pretend they don’t exist. They clearly pretend we don’t exist.”
We leave the park, heading to our houses. I’m still confused, but I want to believe Lia. Could it be Josh has moved on? He seemed lost when I asked him about Lia’s dad, as if he genuinely had no idea what I was talking about.
“We’re not going after them,” she tells me. “Josh paid for what he did to me and I think we’d better leave them alone before we start a war.”
“I agree with Lia,” Caleb says. “But the second her safety is threatened or if we learn they’re behind this, we’ll destroy them.”
We nod as we walk home. I decide to be like the others and give those assholes the benefit of the doubt. But I’m not lowering my guard. Never.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lia
None of the girls are talking. No matter how charming and flirtatious the Armstrong guys are, no one tells the truth.
So we’re back to square one, with no chance of saving my dad. I go from class to class like a zombie.
At lunch, I only eat because it’s what I’m supposed to do. The guys seem just as bothered and helpless as me. Josh and his friends haven’t given us any problems, which makes me start to believe they were telling the truth. Zane doesn’t look one hundred percent convinced, though, but I hope he’s wrong. I hate this guessing game, but there’s not really anything I could do about it.
Dad told me this morning that someone from this school accused him of embezzling the funds—which makes me wonder if it was a student working in his office. That puts more points in the Josh-and-his-friends-are-innocent column.
“Hey, Lia?” a voice says.
Looking up, I catch Sophie standing there. She eyes the guys, then shifts her gaze to me. “Can we talk?”
“About?” I ask.
She hesitates, then lowers her head to whisper. “It’s about your dad.”
My eyes grow wide and I follow her to an empty table at the corner of the room—the one she’s been eating at the past few days.
“What do you know?” I ask
, my voice stiff like I’m talking to a stranger and not my former best friend.
She bites her lip, her eyes flicking to Alexis, then back to me. “Okay, I’m probably going to get my head chewed off for telling you this, but your dad’s innocent.”
“I know that,” I say, trying to keep my voice light. “He’d never do such a thing.”
She nods. “Yeah. Um…” She runs her fingers through her strawberry blonde hair. “Alexis and her friends are the accusers. They made the entire thing up. As soon as I learned what they were doing, I walked away. Our friendship has been…well, not the greatest.”
“Why is she making this up?” I ask. “Because Aidan and I are together?”
She tilts her head to the side. “That’s part of it. Burke asked her to spread the lies and she was more than willing to do whatever he told her.”
“Burke?” I ask. “Josh’s friend?”
Sophie nods. So they are behind it. Those assholes.
“They’re forcing other people to do their dirty work so the evidence won’t point their way. They have football careers to worry about and can’t have their names mixed in with this mess. But they’re the ones pulling the strings.”
I just stare at her, trying to make sense of this. “But how does Burke know Alexis?”
“They’re dating. Well, at least she thinks they’re dating. I’m sure he sees her as someone to mess around with then throw away like a used shoe.”
I study her for a little bit. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because your dad’s name needs to be cleared. I want to…” She shifts in her seat. “I want to help. Your dad’s always been nice to me.”
I get to my feet. “I’m going to demand Alexis to tell the truth.”
“She won’t do it. She’ll do anything Burke tells her. He’s just as controlling and abusive as Josh.”
I shut my eyes to regulate my breathing and to calm myself. Then I march over to Alexis’s table and slam my fist near her salad. “We need to talk.”